GLOSSARY 

 
Glossary 

Glossary-1 

GLOSSARY 

Abbreviations and Terms 

ASQ Allowable Sale Quantity 

ATV All Terrain Vehicle 

BA Biological Assessment 

BE Biological Evaluation 

BAER Burned Area Emergency Response 

BMP Best Management Practice 

BIO Biological Opinion 

CCF Hundred Cubic Feet 

CEQ Council on Environmental Quality 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

CTUIR Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 

Indian Reservation 

CY Calendar year 

DBH Diameter Breast Height 

DEQ Department of Environmental Quality 

DFC Desired Future Condition 

EA Environmental Analysis 

EIS Environmental Impact Statement 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

ESA Endangered Species Act 

ESD Emergency Situation Declaration 

FR Forest Road 

FSEIS Final Supplement Environment Impact 

Statement 

FSH Forest Service Handbook 

FSM Forest Service Manual 

FY Fiscal Year 

GIS Geographic Information System 

HRV Historic Range of Variability 

HUC Hydrologic Unit Code 

IDT Interdisciplinary Team 

KV Knutson Vandenberg Act 

LOS Late Old Structure 

LRMP Land and Resource Management Plan 

MA Management Area 

MBF Thousand Board Feet 

MIS Management Indicator Species 

MMBF Million Board Feet 

MOU Memorandum of Understanding 

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act 

NF National Forest 

NFMA National Forest Management Act 

NFS National Forest System 
Glossary 

Glossary - 2

NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service 

NOI Notice of Intent 

PAG Plant Association Group 

PWA Potential Wilderness Area 

RD Ranger District 

RHCA Riparian Habitat Conservation Area 

RMO Riparian Management Objective 

RNA Research Natural Area 

ROD Record of Decision 

S&G Standard and Guideline 

SRI Soil Resource Inventory 

TES Threatened, Endangered or Sensitive 

TMDL Total Maxim Daily Load 

UMA Umatilla National Forest 

USFS United States Forest Service 

USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service 

VQO Visual Quality Objective 

WDFW Washington Department of Fish and 

Wildlife 

A 

Activity fuels – Fuels generated or altered by a management activity. 

Adfluvial individuals – are those which emigrate as juveniles from spawning tributaries, maturing and 

overwintering in lakes and reservoirs. 

Affected environment - Natural environment that exists at the present time in the area being analyzed. 

Afforestation – The establishment of a forest or stand in an area where the preceding vegetation or land use 

was not forest. 

Age class - A group of trees that started growing (regenerated) within the same time frame, usually 20 

years. A single age class would have trees that are within 20 years of the same age, such as 1-20 years or 

21-40 years. 

Air quality – The composition of air with respect to quantities of pollution therein; used most frequently in 

connection with “standards” of maximum acceptable pollutant concentrations. 

Airshed - A geographic area that, because of topography, meteorology, and climate, shares the same air. 

Allotment (range allotment) - Area designated for use by a prescribed number of livestock for a prescribed 

time period. 

Alternative – In an EIS, one of a number of possible options for responding to the purpose and need for 

action. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 3

Anadromous fish – Fish that hatch in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, mature there, and return to fresh 

water to reproduce; for example, salmon and steelhead. 

Aspect - The direction a surface faces. A hillside facing east has an eastern aspect. 

ASQ (allowable sale quantity) - Amount of timber that may be sold within a certain period from an area of

suitable land. The suitability of the land and the time period are specified in the Forest Plan. 

B 

Bankful width – The width of a stream channel measured between the tops of the most prominent banks on 

either side of the stream. Also refers to the width of the stream at the normal flood flow. 

Basal area - The area of the cross-section of a tree trunk near its base, usually 4 1/2 feet above the ground. 

Basal area is a way to measure how much of a site is occupied by trees. The term basal area is often used to 

describe the collective basal area of trees per acre. 

Benchmark – The analytical basis from which the alternatives were developed; the use of assessed land 

capability as a basis from which to estimate the effects of alternative patterns of management on the land. 

Beneficial uses – Any of the various uses which may be made of water including, but not limited to, 

domestic water supplies, industrial water supplies, agricultural water supplies, navigation, recreation in and 

on the water, wildlife habitat, and aesthetics. The beneficial use is dependent upon actual use, the ability of 

the water to support a non-existing use either now or in the future, and its likelihood of being used in a given 

manner. The use of water for the purpose of wastewater dilution or as a receiving water for a waste 

treatment facility effluent is not a beneficial use. 

Best Management Practices (BMPs) – A practice or combination of practices that is the most effective and 

practical means (including technological, economic, and institutional considerations) of preventing or

reducing negative environmental impacts to water pollution.that may result from resource management 

activities. 

Big game - Large mammals, such as deer and elk, that are hunted for sport. 

Big game summer range – A range usually at higher elevations, used by deer and elk during the summer. 

Summer ranges are usually much more extensive than winter ranges. 

Big game winter range – A range usually at lower elevation used by migratory deer and elk during the 

winter months; usually more clearly defined and smaller than summer range. 

Bioenergy – Energy derived from fuel, such as wood or ethanol, derived from biomass. 

Biological diversity - The number and abundance of species found within a common environment. This 

includes the variety of genes, species, ecosystems, and ecological processes that connect everything in a

common environment. 

Biological Assessment (BA) – A document prepared by a federal agency for the purpose of identifying any 

endangered or threatened species that is likely to be affected by an agency action. This document facilitates 

compliance with the Endangered Species Act. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 4

Biophysical – The combination of biological and physical components in an ecosystem. 

Board foot (bf) - A measurement term for lumber or timber. It is the amount of wood contained in an 

unfinished board 1 inch thick, 12 inches long, and 12 inches wide. Often expressed as MBF (thousand 

board feet) or MMBF (million board feet). 

Broadcast burn - A prescribed fire that burns forest fuels as they are, with no piling or windrowing. 

Browse - Twigs, leaves, and young shoots of trees and shrubs that animals (such as deer and elk) eat. 

Buffer - A land area designated to block or absorb impacts to the area beyond the buffer. For example, a 

streamside buffer is often retained to reduce impacts of a harvest unit. 

C 

Canopy - In a forest, the branches of the uppermost layer of foliage. It can also be used to describe lower

layers in a multistoried forest. 

Canopy closure – The amount of ground surface shaded by tree canopies as seen from above. Used to 

describe how open or dense a stand of trees is, often expressed in 10 percent increments. 

Capability – The potential of an area or land/or water to produce resources, supply goods and service, and 

allow resource uses under a specified set of management practices and at a given level of management 

intensity. 

Catastrophic wildfire – An especially intense and widespread fire that usually, but not always, occurs in 

forests that are outside the historical range of variability in terms of forest structure and forest fuels due to 

fire suppression. 

Classified road – See Road Definitions. 

Cavity - A hole in a tree often used by wildlife species, usually birds, for nesting, roosting, and 

reproduction. 

CCF - One hundred cubic feet (see CF). 

CF - A measurement term for lumber or timber. It is the amount of wood contained in an unfinished block

of wood 12 inches thick, 12 inches long, and 12 inches wide. Often expressed as CCF (hundred cubic feet). 

CFR – Code of Federal Regulations. A codification of the general and permanent rules published in the 

Federal Register by the Executive departments and agencies of the federal government. 

Channel (stream)– The deepest part of a stream or riverbed through which the main current of water flows. 

Channelization - Human-caused alterations to a stream channel that cause the channel to be fixed in place, 

such as levees, dikes, trenching, and riprap. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 5

Climax -. The culminating seral stage in plant succession for any given site where, in the absence of highseverity disturbances, the vegetation has reached a highly stable condition and undergoes change very 

slowly. A self-replacing community that is relatively stable over several generations of the dominant 

plant species, or very persistent in comparison to other seral stages. 

Clearcutting - A regeneration harvest method that removes all merchantable trees in a single cutting except 

for wildlife trees or snags. A “clearcut” is an area from which all merchantable trees have been cut. 

Closed system road – Classified system road closed to public use. Opened to administrative use. Not 

decommissioned. 

Commercial thinning – Thinning where the trees being removed are large enough to have economic 

value and can be sold to a timber purchaser. 

Community - A group of species of plants or animals living and interacting at a particular time and place; a 

group of people residing in the same place under the same government. 

Compaction – Making soil hard and dense, decreasing its ability to support vegetation because the soil can 

hold less water and air and because roots have trouble penetrating the soil. 

Conifer - A tree that produces cones, such as a pine, spruce, or fir tree. 

Consultation – A process required by Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act whereby federal agencies 

proposing activities in a listed species habitat confer with governing agencies about the impacts of the 

activity on the species. Consultation may be informal, and thus advisory, or formal, and thus binding. 

Connectivity (of habitats) - The arrangement of habitats that allows organisms and ecological processes to 

move across the landscape; patches of similar habitats are either close together or linked by 

corridors of appropriate vegetation. The opposite of fragmentation. 

Corridor - Elements of the landscape that connect similar areas. Streamside vegetation may create a 

corridor of willows and hardwoods between meadows where wildlife feed. 

Cover - Any feature that conceals wildlife or fish, sometimes referred to as "hiding cover." Cover may be 

dead or live vegetation, boulders, or undercut stream banks. Animals use cover to escape from predators, 

rest, or feed. 

Cover deficient area – Any forage area greater than 600 feet from the defined forage:cover edge. 

Cover forage ratio - The ratio of hiding cover to foraging areas for wildlife species. Necessary in 

determining the effectiveness of the habitat an area provides. 

Critical habitat - Areas designated for the survival and recovery of federally listed threatened or 

endangered species. 

Crown - The part of a tree containing life foliage; treetops. 

Crown fire – A forest fire that advances through the crown fuel layer normally in direct conjunction with a 

surface fire. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 6

Cultural resource - The remains of sites, structures, or objects used by people in the past (at least 50 years 

old); this can be prehistoric or historical. 

Cumulative effects - Effects on the environment that result from the incremental impacts of an action when 

added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable actions. Cumulative effects can result from 

individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time. 

D 

DBH (diameter at breast height) - The diameter of a tree 4 1/2 feet above the ground measured on the uphill

side of the tree. 

Danger Tree – A hazard tree is considered to be any tree that is likely to fail within one and one-half tree 

lengths of an open class 3 or higher system road, any road designated for hauling, developed recreation or 

administrative site." 

DecAid – An advisory tool that provides guidance to land managers evaluating effects of forest conditions 

and existing or proposed management activities on organisms that use snags, downwood, and other wood 

decay elements. DecAid is a statistical summary of empirical data from published research on wildlife and 

deadwood. Data provided in DecAid allows the user to relate the abundance of deadwood habitat for both 

snags and logs to the frequency of occurrence of selected wildlife species that require dead wood habitat for 

some part of their life cycle. 

Decommission – Activity that results in the stabilization and restoration of unneeded roads to a more 

natural state. Removes the road segment from the Forest road inventory system. Decommissioning can 

involve: closing entrances; scarifying road surfaces, or decompacting (sub-soiling) to establish vegetation 

and reduce run-off.; seeding to control erosion; partial to full restoration of stream channel by removing 

culverts and fills; and removing unstable portions of embankments. 

Deforestation – The removal of a forest stand where the land is put to a non-forest use. 

Desired future condition - A portrayal of the land or resource conditions that are expected to result if 

goals and objectives are fully achieved. 

Direct effects – Impacts on the environment that are caused by the action and occur at the same time and 

place. 

Disturbance - Any event, such as flood, wildfire, insect infestations, or timber harvest, that alters the 

structure, composition, or functions of terrestrial or aquatic habitats. 

Diversity - The distribution and abundance of different plant and animal communities and species within 

the area covered by a land and resource management plan. 

Duff – Organic matter in various stages of decomposition on the floor of the forest. 

E 
Glossary 

Glossary - 7

Early forest succession - The stage of vegetation or wildlife that inhabits an area immediately following 

removal or destruction of vegetation. For instance, grasses may be the first plants to grow in an area that 

was burned. 

Eastside Screens – Regional Foresters’s Forest Plan Amendment (June 1995) designed to maintain options 

for old growth related and other species. 

Ecological approach - An approach to natural resource management that considers the relationships among 

all organisms, including humans, and their environment. 

Ecology - The interrelationships of living things to one another and their environment or the study of these 

interrelationships. From the Greek Oikos meaning "house" or "place to live." 

Ecological integrity – In general, ecological or biological integrity refers to the elements of biodiversity and 

the functions that link them together and sustain the entire system; the quality of being complete; a sense of 

wholeness. Absolute measures of integrity do not exist. Proxies provide useful measures to estimate the 

integrity of major ecosystem components (forestland, rangeland, aquatic, and hydrologic). Estimating these 

integrity components in a relative sense across the project area helps to explain current conditions and to 

prioritize future management. Thus areas of high integrity would represent areas where ecological functions 

and processes are better represented and functioning than areas rated as low integrity. 

Ecosystem - A complete interacting system of living organisms and the land and water that make up their 

environment; the home places of all living things, including humans. 

Ecosystem health – A condition where the parts and functions of an ecosystem are sustained over time and 

where the system’s capacity for self-repair is maintained, such that goals for uses, values, and services of the 

ecosystem are met. 

Ecosystem-based management – Scientifically based land and resource management that integrates 

ecological capabilities with social values and economic relationships, to produce, restore, or sustain

ecosystem integrity and desired conditions, uses, products, values, and services over the long term. 

Edge (habitat) - The margin where two or more vegetation patches meet, such as a meadow opening next to 

a mature forest stand or a ponderosa pine stand next to an aspen stand. 

Endangered species - A plant or animal that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant 

portion of its range. Endangered species are identified by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance 

with the Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

Environmental analysis - An analysis of alternative actions and their predictable long and short-term 

environmental effects. Environmental analyses include physical, biological, social, and economic factors. 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - A statement of environmental effects of a proposed action and 

alternatives. The Draft EIS is released to other agencies and the public for comment and review. A Final 

EIS is issued after consideration of Public and agency comments. A Record of Decision (ROD) is based on 

the information and analysis in the Final EIS. 

Ephemeral streams - Streams that flow only as the direct result of rainfall or snowmelt. They have no 

permanent flow. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 8

Erosion - The wearing away of the land surface by wind, water, ice, gravity, or other geological activities. 

Erosion can be intensified by human activities (such as road building) that may reduce the stability of soils 

or slopes. 

ETA – Equivalent Treatment Acres –is a watershed cumulative effects model that calculates the acres of 

created openings in forested areas based on harvest prescription or other mortality. It is used as an index 

to represent the potential for increased water yield and peak flows as a consequence of reducing water 

loss by interception and evapotranspiration, or by changing snow distribution and melt rates. 

Even-aged management - Method of forest management in which trees, usually the same species, are 

maintained at the same age and size and harvested all at once so a new stand may grow. 

Even-aged stands – Stands of trees of approximately the same age. Silvicultural methods that generate 

even-aged stands include clearcutting, shelterwood, and seed tree. 

Exotic - A plant or animal species introduced from a distant area; not native to the area, often particularly

aggressive. 

Extirpation – Localized disappearance of a species from an area. 

F 

Fauna - The vertebrate and invertebrate animals of an area or region. 

Fine fuels – Fast-drying fuels, generally with a comparatively high surface area-to-volume ratio, which are 

less than 1⁄4 -inch in diameter and have a time lag of one hour or less. These fuels readily ignite and are 

rapidly consumed by fire when dry. 

Fire behavior – How fire reacts to the influences of fuel, weather, and topography. 

Fire cycle (mean fire interval) - The average time between fires in a given area. 

Fire-dependent - Forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems historically composed of species that evolved 

with and are maintained by periodic fire. 

Fire-intolerant – Species of plants that do not grow well or die from the effects of too much fire. Generally 

these are shade-tolerant species. 

Fire regimes – The ecological effects of frequency, intensity, extent, season, and synergistic interactions 

with other disturbances, such as insects and disease, classified into generalized levels of fire severity. 

Fire severity or Burn severity –Severity describes the fire-caused damage to the soil. The severity ratings 

(high, moderate, and low) are based on standards in Forest Service Handbook 2509.13. 

Fire-tolerant – Species of plants that can withstand certain frequency and intensity of fire. Generally these 

are shade–intolerant species. 

First-order stream – Stream channel with no tributaries. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 9

Fisheries habitat - Streams, lakes, and reservoirs that support fish or have the potential for supporting fish. 

Flood plain - The portion of a river valley or level lowland next to streams which is covered with water 

when the river or stream overflows its bank at flood stage. 

Flora - The vegetation of an area. 

Fluvial individuals – are those which emigrate as juveniles from spawning tributaries, maturing and 

overwintering in large rivers. 

Forage - Vegetation (both woody and non-woody) eaten by animals, especially big game and livestock. 

Forage area – All areas that do not meet the definition of either satisfactory cover or marginal cover. 

Forage deficient area – Any total cover farther than 600 feet from the defined forage:cover edge. 

Forb - A broadleaf plant that has little or no woody material in it, including plants commonly called 

wildflowers and weeds. 

Foreground - The part of a scene or landscape that is nearest the viewer. 

Forest health – The condition in which forest ecosystems sustain their complexity, diversity, resiliency, and 

productivity while providing for human needs and values. It is a useful way to communicate about the 

current condition of the forest, especially with regard to resiliency, a part of forest health that describes the 

ability of the ecosystem to respond to disturbances. Forest health and resiliency can be described, in part, by 

species composition, density, and structure. 

Forest plan (Umatilla Land and Resource Management Plan) – A document that guides natural resource 

management and establishes standards and guidelines for a National Forest; required by the National Forest 

Management Act. 

Forest road or trail - A road or trail wholly or partly within or adjacent to and serving the National 

Forest System that the Forest Service determines is necessary for the protection, administration, and 

utilization of the National Forest System and the use and development of its resources. 

Forest transportation atlas – A display of the system of roads, trails, and airfields of an administrative 

unit. 

Fragmentation - The breakup of a large land area (such as a forest) into smaller patches that are isolated 

from the original area. Fragmentation can occur naturally (as by stand-replacing wildfire) or from human 

activities (such as road building). 

Fuel(s) – Combustible material that includes vegetation such as grass, leaves, ground litter, plants, shrubs, 

and trees. Includes both living plants; dead, woody vegetative materials; and other vegetative materials 

which are capable of burning. 

Fuel break – A zone in which fuel quantity has been reduced or altered to provide a position for 

suppression forces to make a stand against a wildfire. Fuel breaks are designated or constructed before the 

outbreak of a fire. Fuel breaks may consist of one or a combination of the following: natural barriers, 

constructed fuel breaks, man-made barriers. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 10

Fuel ladder - Shrubs, small trees, and low growing branches that allow fire to move from the ground to the 

tree crowns. 

Fuel load – The dry weight of combustible materials per unit area; usually expressed as tons per acre. 

Fuels management - The treatment of fuels that would otherwise interfere with effective fire management 

or control. For instance, prescribed fire can reduce the amount of fuels that accumulate on the forest floor 

before the fuels become so heavy that a natural wildfire 

in the area would be explosive and impossible to control. 

Function - The processes within an ecosystem through which the elements interact, such as succession, the 

food chain, fire, weather, and the hydrologic cycle. 

G 

Geographic Information System (GIS) – Computer software that provides database and spatial analytic 

capabilities. 

Geomorphic processes - Processes that change the form of the earth, such as volcanic activity, running 

water, and glacial action. 

Geomorphology - The geologic study of the shape and evolution of the earth's landforms. 

Ground fire - A fire that burns along the forest floor and does not affect trees with thick bark or high 

crowns. 

Ground fuels – All combustible materials below the surface litter layer. These fuels may be partially 

decomposed, such as forest soil organic layers (duff), dead moss and lichen layers, punky wood and deep 

organic layers (peat), or may be living plant material, such as tree and shrub roots. 

Groundwater - Water that sinks into the soil and is stored in slowly flowing and slowly renewed 

underground reservoirs called aquifers. 

H 

Habitat - The place where a plant or animal finds what it needs to survive, either year-round or seasonally. 

Habitat capability - The ability of a habitat to support a given species of wildlife. 

Habitat diversity - The variety of different types of wildlife habitat within a given area. 

Habitat type - A way of defining land areas potentially capable of producing similar plant communities at 

climax. In Forestry, habitat types are named for the predominant climax tree species. For example, 

the Pinus Ponderosa habitat type series is habitat that typically supports climax Ponderosa Pine. A number 

of other habitat features can be identified using habitat types, such as aspect, elevation, climate, and use by 

wildlife species. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 11

Harvest – (1) Felling and removal of trees from the forest; (2) removal of game animals or fish from a 

population, typically by hunting or fishing. 

Headwaters – Beginning of a watershed; unbranched tributaries of a stream. 

Hiding area/cover - Vegetation capable of hiding 90 percent of an adult elk or deer from a human's view at 

a distance of 200 feet or less. 

Historical Range of Variability (HRV) – The natural fluctuation of components of healthy ecosystems 

over time. In this EIS, it refers to the range of conditions and processes that are likely to have occurred prior 

to settlement of the project area by people of European descent (approximately the mid 1800s), which 

would have varied within certain limits over time. 

Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) – An area of land upstream from a specific point on a stream (designated as 

the mouth) that defines a hydrologic boundary and includes all of the source areas that could contribute 

surface water runoff directly and indirectly to the designated outlet point. 

Hydrology - The study of water on the surface of the land, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the 

atmosphere. 

I 

Indicator species - A plant or animal species that is presumed to be sensitive to habitat change. Its presence 

indicates specific habitat conditions are also present. Population changes in an indicator 

species can indicate the effects of land management activities. 

Indirect effects – Impacts on the environment that are caused by the action and are later in time or farther 

removed in distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable. 

Individual tree selection - The removal of certain size and age classes of individual trees from a stand. 

Regeneration is allowed to naturally occur and an uneven-aged stand is maintained. 

Instream flow - The natural flow of water in a stream channel. 

Intensity (fire intensity) - The rate of heat release for an entire fire at a specific time. 

Interdisciplinary team (IDT) - A team of individuals with skills from different disciplines that focuses on 

the same task or project, referred to as ID Team. 

Intermediate harvest - The removal of trees from a stand between the time of its formation and harvest 

cutting. Thinning, liberation, and improvement cuts are all types of intermediate harvest. Sometimes

salvage harvests and sanitation harvests are termed intermediate. 

Intermittent stream - A stream that flows only at certain times of the year when it receives water from 

streams or some surface source, such as melting snow. 

Irretrievable – A category of impacts that applies to losses of production or commitment of renewable 

natural resources. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 12

Irreversible – A category of impacts that applies to non-renewable resources, such as minerals and 

archaeological sites. Losses of these resources cannot be reversed. Irreversible effects can also refer to 

effects of actions on resources that can be renewed only after a very long period of time, such as the loss of 

soil productivity. 

Issue – A matter of controversy, dispute, or general concern over resource management activities or land 

uses. To be considered a “significant “ EIS issue, it must be well defined, relevant to the proposed action, 

and within the ability of the agency to address through alternative management strategies. 

L 

Ladder fuels – Fuels which provide vertical continuity between strata. Fire is able to carry from the surface 

fuels by convection into the crowns with relative ease. 

Landing - Any place where cut timber is collected before further transport from the timber sale area. 

Landscape - All the natural features such as grasslands, hills, forest, and water, which distinguish one part 

of the earth's surface from another; usually that portion of land which the eye can comprehend in a single 

view, including all its natural characteristics. 

Late forest succession - The stage of forest succession in which most of the trees are mature or overmature. 

Lethal fire (stand replacement) - Fire that kills upwards of 70 percent of overstory trees. 

Litter (forest litter) - The freshly fallen or only slightly decomposed plant material on the forest floor. This 

layer includes foliage, bark fragments, twigs, flowers, and fruit. 

M 

Mainstem – The main channel of the river in a river basin, as opposed to the streams and smaller rivers that 

feed into it. 

Management action - Any activity undertaken as part of the administration of the National Forest. 

Management area – An aggregation of capability areas that have a common management direction, and 

may be dispersed over the Forest. 

Marginal cover – A stand of coniferous trees 10 or more feet tall with an average canopy closure equal to 

or more than 40 percent but less than 70 percent and generally capable of obscuring at least 90 percent of a 

standing elk from the view of humans at a distance of 200 feet.. 

Merchantable timber - Timber that can be bought or sold. 

Middleground – A term used in visual management to describe the portions of a view extending from the 

foreground zone out to 3 to 5 miles from the observer. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 13

MIS (management indicator species) - A wildlife species selected by a land management agency to 

indicate the health of the ecosystem in which it lives and, consequently, the effects of forest management 

activities on that ecosystem (see "indicator species"). 

Mitigation - Measures designed to counteract environmental impacts or make impacts less severe. 

Mixed stand - A stand consisting of two or more tree species. 

MBF - Thousand Board Feet (see board foot). 

MMBF - Million Board Feet (see board foot). 

Monitoring - A process of collecting information to evaluate whether or not objectives of a project and its 

mitigation activities are being realized. 

Mortality - The loss of a population due to all lethal causes, often referring to the rate of death of a species 

in a given population or community. 

Mosaic - A pattern of vegetation in which two or more kinds of plant communities are interspersed in 

patches, such as a meadow between stands of old growth. 

Motor Vehicle – Any vehicle which is self propelled, other than: (1) a vehicle operated on rails, and (2) 

Any wheelchair or mobility device, including one that is battery-powered, that is designed solely for use by 

a mobility-impaired person for locomotion, and that is suitable for use in an indoor pedestrian area. 

Multiple-use management – The management of public lands and their various resource values so they are 

used in the combination that best meets the present and future needs of the American people. 

Mycorrhizae - The symbiotic relationship between certain fungi and the roots of certain plants; important 

for plants to take nutrients from soil. 

N 

National Forest System Road - A forest road other than a road which has been authorized by a legally 

documented right-of-way held by a State, county, or other local public road authority. 

Natural regeneration – Reforestation of a site by natural seeding from surrounding trees. Natural 

regeneration may or may not be preceded by site preparation. 

Natural resource - Water, soil, wild plants and animals, air, minerals, nutrients, and other resources 

produced by the earth's natural processes. 

NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) - An act of Congress passed in 1969 declaring a national 

policy to encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between people and their environment. Section 102 

of the NEPA requires a statement of possible environmental effects be released to 

the public and other agencies for review and comment. 

NFMA (National Forest Management Act) - A law passed in 1976 requiring the preparation of Regional 

Guides and Forest Plans and regulations to guide that development. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 14

No Action alternative - The most likely condition expected to exist in the future if management practices 

continue unchanged. 

Non-Commercial Thinning - – Thinning where trees are too small to be sold for conventional products. 

Non-game – Term for wild animals not commonly harvested for recreation, fur or subsistence. 

Non-point source pollution - Pollution whose source is not specific in location. The sources of the 

discharge are dispersed, not well defined, or constant. Examples include sediments from logging activity 

and runoff with chemicals from agricultural lands. 

Non-system road/unclassified road – Any continuous set of wheel tracks that exist for more than one 

season, and does not belong to the transportation system. 

Noxious weed - A weed that causes disease or has other adverse effects on man or his environment and, 

therefore, is detrimental to public health and the agriculture and commerce of the United States. Noxious 

weeds are often aggressive and difficult to manage and non-native, new, or not common to the United 

States. 

Nutrient cycle - Ecological processes in which nutrients and elements such as carbon, phosphorous, 

nitrogen, calcium, and others circulate among animals, plants, soils, and air. 

O 

Old growth - Old forests often containing several canopy layers, variety in tree sizes and species, decadent 

old trees, and standing and dead woody material. 

Ongoing actions – Actions that have been implemented, or have contracts awarded or permits issued. 

Open system road – Classified system road, open to public use.

Optimum cover – Any total cover within 600 feet of the defined forage:cover edge. 

Optimum forage – Forage area within 600 feet of the defined forage:cover edge. 

Overmature timber - Trees that have attained full development, particularly in height, and are declining in 

vigor, health, and soundness. 

Overstory - The upper canopy layer; the plants below comprise the understory. 

P 

PACFISH – Interim strategies for managing Pacific anadromous fish-producing watersheds in eastern 

Oregon and Washington, Idaho, and portions of California. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 15

Park-like structure - Stands with large scattered trees, few or no understory trees, and open growing 

conditions, usually maintained by frequent ground fires. 

Patch - An area of uniform vegetation that differs in structure and composition from what surrounds it. 

Perennial stream - A stream that flows throughout the year from its source to mouth. 

Plant Association - A taxonomic unit in a potential vegetation classification system. A plant association 

consists of plant communities with similar form and structure and plant composition; commonly it is a 

climax community. 

Plant Association Group (PAG)—Groupings of plant associations (and other taxonomic units classified 

as potential vegetation types), representing similar ecological environments as characterized by 

temperature and moisture regimes. 

Plant Community Type (PCT) - In a potential vegetation classification context, plant community type is 

a taxonomic unit with no particular successional status implied. 

Predator - An animal that captures and feeds on parts or all of an organism of another species. 

Preferred alternative – The alternative identified in a draft environmental impact statement which has been 

initially selected by the agency as the most acceptable resolution to the problems identified in the purpose 

and need. 

Prescribed fire - The intentional use of fire under specified conditions to achieve specific management 

objectives. 

Prescription – Measurable criteria that define conditions under which a prescribed fire may be ignited, 

guide selection of appropriate management responses, and indicate other required actions. Prescription 

criteria may include safety, economic, public health, and environmental, geographic, administrative, social, 

or legal considerations. 

Present net value (PNV) [also called present net worth] - The measure of the economic value of a project 

when costs and revenues occur at different times. Future revenues and costs are "discounted " to the present 

by an interest rate that reflects the changing value of a dollar over time. The assumption is that dollars today 

are more valuable than dollars in the future. PNV is used to compare project alternatives that have different 

cost and revenue flows. 

Public involvement - The use of appropriate procedures to inform the public, obtain early and continuing 

public participation, and consider the views of interested parties in planning and decision making. 

R 

Range of variability - The fluctuation, over time, in the population, size, and components of healthy 

ecosystems. 

Rangeland (range) - Land on which the principle natural plant cover is composed of native grasses, forbs, 

and shrubs that are valuable as forage for livestock and big game. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 16

Redd –Spawning nest made by salmon or steelhead in the gravel bed of a river. 

Reforestation - The restocking of an area with forest trees by either natural or artificial means such as 

planting. 

Regeneration - The process of establishing a new tree crop on previously harvested land. The term also 

refers to the young crop itself. 

Regeneration harvest - A silvicultural treatment intended to regenerate a stand of trees. Shelterwood and 

seed tree harvests are forms of regeneration treatments. 

Resident fish – Fish that spend their entire life in freshwater: examples include bull trout and westslope 

cutthroat trout. 

Resilient, resiliency - The capacity of a plant community or ecosystem to maintain or regain normal 

function and development following disturbance. 

Restoration (of ecosystems) - Actions taken to modify an ecosystem to achieve a desired, healthy, and 

functioning conditions and processes. Generally refers to the process of enabling the system to resume its 

resiliency to disturbances. 

Revegetation - Establishing or reestablishing desirable plants on a site where they are absent or in few 

numbers. Revegetation can be accomplished through natural or artificial reseeding or transplanting. 

Riparian area - The area along a watercourse or around a lake or pond. Area with distinctive soil and 

vegetation between a stream or other body of water and the adjacent upland; includes wetlands and those 

portions of floodplains and valley bottoms that support riparian vegetation. 

Riparian ecosystem - The ecosystems around or next to water areas that support unique vegetation and 

animal communities as a result of the influence of water. 

Riparian Habitat Conservation Area (RHCA) – Portions of watershed where riparian-dependent 

resources receive primary emphasis, and management activities are subject to specific standards and 

guidelines. RHCAs include traditional riparian corridors, wetlands, intermittent headwater streams, and 

other areas where proper ecological functioning is crucial to maintenance of the stream's water, sediment, 

woody debris and nutrient delivery systems. 

Riparian Management Objectives (RMO) – Quantifiable measures of stream and stream-side conditions 

that define good anadromous fish habitat, and serve as indicators against which attainment, or progress 

toward attainment, of the goals will be measured. 

Road – A motor vehicle route over 50 inches wide, unless identified and managed as a trail. 

Runoff - The portion of precipitation that flows over the land surface or in open channels. 

S 

Salvage – Salvage timber harvest is defined as "the removal of dead trees or trees damaged or dying 

because of injurious agents other than competition, to recover economic value that would otherwise be 
Glossary 

Glossary - 17

lost" (Helms 1998). When a fire front passes a tree, some of the resulting heat is transferred to the 

vascular cambium, foliage and roots. If the temperatures are high enough and the flame residence time is 

long enough, these tissues are killed. When a high proportion of the cambium, crown or fine roots are 

killed, the whole tree dies. Lower temperatures or shorter residence times will injure tissues rather than 

kill them (Dickinson and Johnson 2001). 

Satisfactory cover – A stand of coniferous trees 40 or more feet tall with an average canopy closure equal 

to or more than 70 percent. Umatilla Forest Plan defines it as cover used by animals to ameliorate the effect 

of weather. 

Scoping - The early stages of preparation of an environmental analysis to determine public opinion, receive 

comments and suggestions, and determine issues during the environmental analysis process. It may involve 

public meetings, telephone conversations, or letters. 

Seasonally Closed Road – Classified system road closed to public use for part of the year. 

Sediment – Solid materials, both mineral and organic, in suspension or transported by water, gravity, ice, or 

air; may be moved and deposited away from their original position and eventually will settle to the bottom. 

Sensitive species - A sensitive species is one that has been designated by the Regional Forester because of 

concern for population viability. Indications for concern include significant current or predicted downward 

trends in population numbers or density or in habitat capability that would reduce an existing species

distribution. 

Seral - Refers to the sequence of transitional plant communities during succession. Early seral refers to 

plants that are present soon after a disturbance or at the beginning of a new successional process (such as 

seedling or sapling growth stages in a forest); mid-seral in a forest would refer to pole or medium saw 

timber growth stages; late or old seral refers to plants present during a later stage of plant community 

succession (such as mature or old forest stages). 

Shade-intolerant species - Species of plants that do not grow well in the shade of others. They are species 

that develop on a site soon after a major disturbance. Ponderosa pine and western larch are 

shade-intolerant tree species. 

Shade-tolerant species - Species of plants that grow well in the shade of others. Douglas-fir is a relatively 

shade-tolerant tree. 

Shelterwood harvest - A regeneration cut designed to establish a new crop of trees under the protection of 

the old. This type of harvest typically occurs in stages with a second entry following the first after 

regeneration has occurred. 

Silvicultural system - The cultivation of forests; the result is a forest of a distinct form. Silvicultural 

systems are classified according to harvest and regeneration methods and the type of forest 

that results. 

Silviculture - The practice of manipulating the establishment, composition, structure, growth, and rate of 

succession of forests to accomplish specific objectives. 

Site potential – A measure of resource availability based on interactions among soils, climate, hydrology, 

and vegetation. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 18

Site preparation - The general term for removing unwanted vegetation, slash, roots, and stones from a site 

before reforestation. Naturally-occurring wildfire as well as prescribed fire can prepare a 

site for natural regeneration. 

Slash - The residue left on the ground after timber cutting or after a storm, fire, or other event. Slash 

includes unused logs, uprooted stumps, broken or uprooted stems, branches, bark, etc. 

Smolt – Young salmon or trout migrating to the ocean and undergoing biological changes to enable them to 

move from freshwater streams to saltwater. 

Snag - A standing dead tree. 

Soil compaction - The reduction of soil volume. For instance, the weight of heavy equipment on soils can 

compact the soil and thereby change it in some ways, such as in its ability to absorb water. 

Soil productivity - The capacity of a soil to produce a specific crop. Productivity depends on adequate 

moisture and soil nutrients as well as favorable climate. 

Soil Resource Inventory (SRI) – An inventory of the soil resource based on landform, vegetative 

characteristics, soil characteristics, and management potentials. 

Spawning habitat – Areas used by adult fish for laying and fertilizing eggs. 

Special use permit - A permit issued to an individual or group by the USDA Forest Service for use of 

National Forest land for a special purpose. Examples might be a special use permit for the Boy Scout 

Jamboree or a mountain bike race. 

Species – A population or series of populations of organisms that can interbreed freely with each other but 

not with members of other species. 

Stability – Ability of a living system to withstand or recover from externally imposed changes or stresses. 

Stand - A group of trees in a specific area that are sufficiently alike in composition, age, arrangement, and 

condition so as to be distinguishable from the forest in adjoining areas. 

Stand composition – The vegetative species that make up the stand. 

Stand density – Refers to the number of trees growing in a given area, usually expressed in trees per acre. 

Stand structure –The mix and distribution of tree sizes, layers, and ages in a forest. Some stands are all 

one size (single-story), some are two-story, and some are a mix of trees of different ages and sizes (multistory). 

Standards and guidelines - Requirements found in a Forest Plan which impose limits on natural resource 

management activities, generally for environmental protection. 

Stream morphology – The study of the form and structure of streams. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 19

Strongholds (fish) – Watersheds that have the following characteristics: (1) presence of all major lifehistory forms (for example, resident, fluvial, and adfluvial) that historically occurred within the watershed; 

(2) numbers are stable or increasing, and the local population is likely to be at half or more of its historical 

size or density; (3) the population or metapopulation within the watershed, or within a larger region of 

which the watershed is a part, probably contains at least 5,000 individuals or 500 adults. 

Succession – The process by which a series of different plant communities successively occupy and 

replace each other over time in a particular ecosystem or landscape location following a disturbance 

event. Succession refers to the process of development of an ecosystem over time. The different stages in 

succession are often referred to as seral stages (see "seral"). 

Successional stage - A stage of development of a plant community as it moves from bare ground to climax. 

The grass-forb stage of succession precedes the woody shrub stage (see "seral"). 

Suitability - The appropriateness of certain resource management practices for an area of land. Suitability 

can be determined by environmental and economic analysis of management practices. 

Sustainability – (1) Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the abilities of future 

generations to meet their needs; emphasizing and maintaining the underlying ecological processes that 

ensure long-term productivity of goods, services, and values without impairing productivity of the land. (2) 

In commodity production, refers to the yield of a natural resource that can be produced continually at a 

given intensity of management. 

T 

Thermal cover - Cover used by animals against weather. For example, thermal cover for elk can be found 

in a stand of coniferous trees at least 40 feet tall with a crown closure of at least 70 percent. 

Thinning - An intermediate cutting method designed to reduce stand density in order to improve growth 

of the residual trees, enhance forest health, or recover potential mortality resulting from inter-tree 

competition. 

Threatened species - Those plant or animal species likely to become endangered throughout all or a 

specific portion of their range within the foreseeable future as designated by the US Fish and Wildlife 

Service under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

Tiering – In an EIS, refers to incorporating by reference the analyses in an EIS of a broader scope. For 

example, a Forest Service project-level EIS could tier to the analysis in a Forest Plan EIS; a Forest Plan EIS 

could tier to a Regional Guide EIS. 

Total cover – All coniferous tree cover 10 or more feet tall and with a canopy closure of equal to or greater 

than 40 percent (i.e. satisfactory cover plus marginal cover), 

Tractor logging - A logging method that uses tractors to carry or drag logs from the stump to a landing. 

Trail – A route 50 inches or less in width or a route over 50 inches wide that is identified and managed as a 

trail. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 20

U 

Unauthorized road or trail – A road or trail that is not a forest road or trail or a temporary road or trail and 

that is not included in a forest transportation atlas. 

Unauthorized or Temporary Road – Formerly also referred to as unclassified road. These are defined as 

Roads on National Forest System lands that are not managed as part of the forest transportation system, such 

as unplanned roads, abandoned traveled way, and off-road vehicle track that have not been designated and 

managed as a trail; and those roads that were once under permit or other authorization and were not 

decommissioned upon the termination of the authorization. Roads not authorized or necessary for long-term 

resource management. 

Underburn - A burn by a surface fire that can consume ground vegetation and ladder fuels. 

Understory - The trees and woody shrubs growing beneath the overstory. 

Uneven-aged management - Method of forest management in which trees of different species in a given 

stand are maintained at many ages and sizes to permit continuous natural regeneration. Selective cutting is 

one example of an uneven-aged management method. 

Uneven-aged stand – Stand of trees in which there are considerable differences in the ages of individual 

trees. 

Unsuitable lands - Forest land that is not managed for timber production. Reasons may be matters of 

policy, ecology, technology, silviculture, or economics. 

V 

Vegetation management - Activities designed primarily to promote the health of forest vegetation for 

multiple-use purposes. 

Vertical diversity - The diversity in a stand that results from the different layers or tiers of vegetation. 

Viable population - The number of individuals of a species sufficient to ensure the long-term existence of 

the species in natural, self-sustaining populations that are adequately distributed throughout 

their range. 

Visual quality objective (VQO) - A set of measurable goals for the management of forest visual resources. 

W 

Water yield - The runoff from a watershed including groundwater outflow. 

Watershed - The entire region drained by a waterway (or into a lake or reservoir). More specifically, a 

watershed is an area of land above a given point on a stream that contributes water to the stream flow at that 

point. 
Glossary 

Glossary - 21

Wetlands - Areas that are permanently wet or intermittently covered with water. Wetlands generally 

include swamps, bogs, seeps, wet meadows, and natural ponds. 

Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) – Includes those areas of resident human population at imminent risk 

from wildfire, and human developments having special significance. These areas may include critical 

communication sites, municipal watershed, high voltage transmission lines, observatories, church camps, 

scout camps, research facilities, and other structures that if destroyed by fire, would result in hardships to 

communities. These areas encompass not only the sites themselves, but also the continuous slopes and fuels 

that lead directly to the sites, regardless of the distance involved. 

Wildfire - A human or naturally caused wildland fire that does not meet land management objectives. 

Wildlife habitat diversity - The distribution and abundance of different plant and animal communities and 

species within a specific area. 

Windthrow - Trees blown over by the wind. 

Winter range - That portion of big game's range where animals congregate for the winter. 

X, Y, Z 

Yarding – Hauling timber from the stump to a collection point.